Bernie Ecclestone has said that the May 1 deadline for Bahrain to decide if it can host a grand prix this year could be extended.

The race was originally planned to be the season-opener in March, but political unrest and violence in the country caused it to be postponed. The FIA subsequently gave the race organisers the May deadline, saying it would need to be informed whether the country would be in a position to host the race later in the season.

The situation has still yet to settle down however, so Ecclestone has said that he would be willing to allow more time for a decision to be made.

"We need to wait a little bit to see exactly how progress is made," Ecclestone told Reuters. "I suppose we'd be safe by early June or something like that. Things can change in a couple of weeks...so you don't know, all of a sudden everything might be peaceful in a month's time and they are happy to run the event and so we are happy to be there."

The International Rugby Board (IRB) have stripped Australia of the right to host a round of the World Sevens Series, scheduled for Brisbane on 16-17 February, after the Australian government's refusal to provide visas for the squad from Fiji